Half Her Strength
by Nardragon
Summary: Lena expected a lot of things in the fallout of her mother's incarceration. One of the things she wasn't expecting, however, was Kara to actually publish the article about her and her mother. The second thing she wasn't expecting was Supergirl to show up at her office... or maybe she had been expecting it if she was being honest.


Yes, I am writing Supergirl fanfiction. And yes, it's Lena centric. This takes place after 'Medusa' (as well as after the crossover).

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 _"… at the end of the day, a mother is someone with a presence of unmeasurable magnitude in one's life. While they may be far from perfect, and every woman may not have the perfect relationship with their mothers, its undeniable the influence a mother has in the life of any woman. Behind every powerful woman is a mother who helped shaped her. So here's to the mothers may we inherit half their strength."_

Lena's eyes darted back to the top of the page to the title of the article, "Women of Power and the Mothers Who Molded them" and the byline. She couldn't help the amused smile on her lips. She probably shouldn't have found it amusing. Yet there was something comical about it. So Kara had actually written the article. She certainly was a committed reporter. The article itself was excellent, mentioning four other well known women in National City besides herself, ranging from business women to television personalities. Kara had even interviewed a young local YouTuber. Lena almost believed that the article's intention was truly a light reflection on the relationship between women and their mothers. _Almost_.

Unfortunately, she was far too wise a woman to believe that Kara interviewed her for any other reason than to uncover what she knew about her mother. The fact that Supergirl had come barging into her office the next day asking for help to find her mother only reaffirmed her suspicions.

They'd been right to suspect her mother, of course. That didn't erase the fact that those accusations still cut. Lena could still remember the disappointment… the hurt when Supergirl walked into her office and accused her mother. It had burned inside her, leaving her mouth bitter and numb. Lillian, no matter how poor she was as a mother, was still just that, her mother. She was the only mother she knew. She was the woman who'd raised her. Well, paid to raise her, depending on how you looked at it. Yet, at the end of it all, despite everything she was the person Lena thought off when she thought of the word mom. She so wanted to believe that the Luthors weren't the lodestones of destruction that the world saw them as. The discovery that her faith in her mother had been misplaced, it had just given her another wave of disappointment. That disappointed had lodged itself in the pit of her stomach. She'd been dragging it around for the past week. It had been a week since the events at the port. A week since she'd gotten her mother arrested.

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts. Skimming through the article again, she reread the section about her and her mother. Kara had been mercifully vague when writing about her. The entire piece seemed to be muted when it came to discussing a mother's role. Other articles on a similar topic usually praised a mother for her undaunted commitment to her child. Yet Kara didn't fail to mention that a mother could be fallible. Lena wondered if that line was in some way directed at her. As a confirmation? A reassurance? Perhaps she was reading too much into it. Whatever Kara had intended by including it, it did give her some solace.

A flicker of movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention and she turned to the windows behind her desk. Supergirl was floating just above her balcony. When Lena locked eyes with hers, she straightened her posture in the air. Her hand came up half way, then paused before crossing her arms over her chest.

Lena stood, walking to the door. She pulled it open, standing in the threshold.

"Supergirl," She said simply.

"Ms Luthor,"

"To what do I owe this visit?"

"I haven't had the chance to talk to you since… the other day,"

Lena nodded her head once. She could feel the tension. Supergirl's uncertainty of where she stood with Lena was clear. Honestly, Lena wasn't entirely sure where they stood either. The last time they'd been in this office their conversation had ended on less than friendly terms.

She took a breath. "Usually you see yourself in,"

"Yes, but on my last visit we..." She cut herself off, silent for a moment, "You told me that door wasn't an entrance,"

"It never stopped you before," Lena stepped back, walking into her office.

Supergirl took this as an invitation, or at the very least it wasn't a dismissal. She floated down to the balcony, landing lightly she walked into Lena's office.

"I would have been here a few days ago, but I got called away on business for a few days,"

"Business?" Lena arched an eyebrow.

"Well, it was more of a favor for a friend, but it's a long story and probably won't make much sense,"

Lena wanted to inquire on that further, but there was another question she needed to ask more, "Why are you here now?"

"I haven't thanked you for what you did,"

"I just did the right thing, anyone else would have done it,"

"You're wrong,"

"Excuse me,"

"I mean, you're not just anyone. And not just anyone could… would have done what you did. You went against your mother,"

Lena frowned, leaning back against her desk, not saying anything.

"And you put yourself at risk, again. You seem to have a proclivity for that,"

"You say that like I was the one to fly after a missile filed with what should have been a weaponized virus,"

"That's different. For one, I'm missile proof. Secondly, the virus wouldn't have affected me, even if you hadn't rendered it innate,"

"Oh, but it could have," Lena said softly, "From what my mother showed me, CADMUS made changes to the genetic make-up the virus. They changed the DNA sequencing so it ignored human DNA. It was harder to change it to affect the DNA it was designed to overlook, that being Kryptonian. But the changes they made could have been enough to affect you, although it would have been a slower pace,"

Supergirl didn't respond for several moments, processing this information. "Well then, this means I really need to thank you now," She said with a small smile.

Lena shook her head, "Like I said, I just did what's right. But I am curious, why was that virus was coded to ignore Kryptonian DNA in the first place,"

Supergirl looked down, "That would be because it originated on Krypton. It was designed by… by my father, if you would believe it, as a defense against invaders,"

It was Lena's turn to be stunned into silence. Supergirl's comment about being disillusioned by one's parents was thrown into sharper focus all at once. Lena couldn't think of an appropriate response. She wondered why she even shared that information with her.

They were both silence for a long moment. Supergirl looked away from Lena, her eyes darting around the rest of the room. They came to rest on Lena's desk. She followed her line of sight, realizing she was looking at the CatCo Magazine lying open on her desk. Lena smiled, happy for the excuse to chance the topic to something a little lighter.

"Have you had the chance to read Kara Danvers' latest article?"

"I…yes. I-I skimmed it, yes," Supergirl nodded.

"It's quite good," She chose not to mention that the article had also been a cover to get information from her. She had a sneaking suspicion that Supergirl was already aware of that fact, "I'm a little surprised she didn't interview you,"

"What?" Supergirl blurted. She tripped over her words, "Interview? Me? No, no, no, I couldn't have done that. I mean I- Kara, she...uh... she tried too. She tried to. That is a thing she did, but I turned her down," She cleared her throat, "I can't keep giving Ms Danvers exclusives all the time, now can I? She might become too dependent on me as source,"

"Mmhm," Lena nodded slowly. "Of course not, she might become complacent in her work," Another sneaking suspicion she had about Supergirl was starting to seem more and more likely.

"Exactly," Supergirl smiled faintly. "And besides my mother..." The smile fades. Lena watches as Supergirl's gaze moves away from her, her eyes lingering on the vase of plumerias on the desk. "She wouldn't make for a good story,"

"But what the scoop it would have been for Kara. Learning about your mother? That could have topped Cat Grant breaking the news that you and Superman are cousins,"

Supergirl let out a puff of air, "Ms Grant's interview was more of an ambush," She said in a low voice.

Lena's eyebrow arched up in question.

Supergirl shook her head, "Another long story,"

"I'm sure you have many of those,"

"You could say that. And most… I'm not going to share with Ms Danvers, even if it could help her career,"

"So I shouldn't hold my breath for an exposé about the Super-family?"

"No, definitely not,"Supergirl shakes her head, "Lena, I didn't come here just to thank you. I owe you an apology. It wasn't right of me to come in here and ask about your mother the way I did,"

"You were right about what she was up too,"

"Still I had no right to that. She's still your mother. I can relate to not agreeing with a mother's choices. But you still can't help but love them,"

"I wouldn't go as far to call my affections for my mother love,"

"You still care, I don't think you would have been so defensive if you didn't,"

Lena didn't deny it. "I'll probably have to triple my security now. I wouldn't put it past my mother to have already hired a hit man. She and my brother are cut from the same cloth after all,"

"You know I'll always be there if you need me,"

The sincerity in Supergirl's voice made Lena take a pause.

"I mean it, any time you need me, day or night. Just give Kara a call and she'll get a message to me right away,"

"Thank you Supergirl, I appreciate it,"

She smiles, and Lena thinks it might be the first truly genuine smile she's seen from her that evening. She can't help it. It draws her own smile out.

"Of course," Supergirl says, "it's the least I can do."

There's a lull in the conversation then. But it doesn't feel as tense or awkward as before. It's just… quiet. And for a moment, that's okay.

Then Supergirl takes a deep breath, "It's late, I should be going. Sorry if I kept you back,"

Lena shakes her head, "Thank you, for coming,"

"Like I said, it's the least I can do," She nods, "Have a pleasant evening Ms Luthor,"

"You as well," Lena said, then after a second of deliberation, "Supergirl?"

The heroine stops in the doorway and turns back, her feet already just hovering off the floor.

"I know I said that wasn't an entrance, but I suppose, for you, I'll have to make an exception,"

When she smiles Lena feels warm, like she's in a ray of sunlight.

"Good night Lena,"

"Good night,"

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Here hoping for many more Lena Luthor scenes in the future. Her character has been something of an enigma and I'm fascinated to see more of her on Supergirl.

Nardragon~ until the next page.


End file.
